Alien Base: The Evidence for Extraterrestrial Colonization of Earth – PLANETARY INDEPENDENCE
Fry was rather shocked to notice a very earthly symbol imprinted on the material of his seat. It was that of the tree and the serpent — the caduceus. ‘It is found, in one form or another, in the legends, the inscriptions and the carvings of virtually every one of our early races,’ he said. ‘It has always seemed to me a peculiarly earthly symbol, and it was startling to see it appear from the depths of space, or from whatever planet you call home.’ Alan responded: It is difficult even to outline, in a few minutes of discussion, the events of many centuries. For it has been centuries since we have called any planet home.
The space ships upon which we live, and work and learn, have been our only home for generations. Like all space-dwelling races, we are now essentially independent of planets. Some of our craft are very large, judged by your standards, since they are many times larger than your largest ships. We have no personal need to approach or land upon any planet, except occasionally to obtain raw materials for new construction, and that we usually obtain from asteroids or uninhabited satellites [moons].
Our ships are closed systems. That is, all matter within the craft remains there; nothing is emitted, ejected or lost from it. We have learned simple methods of reducing all compounds to their elements, and for recombining them in any form . . . For example, we breathe in the same manner as you do That is, our lungs take in oxygen from the air, and some of that oxygen is converted to carbon-dioxide in the body processes. Therefore, the air in our ship is constantly passed through solutions which contain plant-like organisms which absorb carbon-dioxide, use the carbon in their own growth, and return the oxygen to the air. Eventually those plants become one of our foods . . .
It may be difficult for you to conceive of a race of intelligent beings who spend all of their lives within the relatively restricted confines of a space ship.
You may even be inclined to feel pity for such a race. We, on the other hand, are inclined to feel pity for the relatively primitive races which are still confined to the surface of a single planet, where they are unable to control . . . earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, tidal waves, blizzards, drought, and a dozen other hazards .
While our bodies seldom leave the ship, our technology has provided us with almost unlimited extensions of our senses so that . . . we can be intimately present at any time and at any place which we may choose, providing that the place is within a few thousand miles of our ship. Through a portion of our technology which your race has not yet begun to acquire, we are able to generate and apply simple forces at points quite remote from our craft. Our abilities may be somewhat startling and incredible to some of your people but they are not actually as startling and incredible as the scientific knowledge and abilities your people now have, compared to those which your ancestors possessed a few hundred years ago . . .